The photo was simple yet poignant.  In the background was the indistinct image of a Marine dressed in camouflage entering the room from the outside and in the foreground the photographer zeroed in on the side of a refrigerator.

Three sentences written on the side of the refrigerator constituted the single most riveting feature of the photo.  The statement was brief, to the point and for me, very powerful.  Some unknown writer had picked up a blue marker and was moved perhaps, by frustration, disgust or fatigue and had written:  “America is not at war.  The Marines are at war.  America is at the Mall.”

More than likely, this Marine had just returned from a couple hours on duty carrying what probably felt like 100 pounds of gear on his back in 100+ degree heat; while putting himself in danger as he walked down some car-bomb wrecked alley; filthy with insurgents.  Back on base, he probably grabbed a cold drink, switched on the television and watched as some yellow-bellied stateside news reader rattled off a ‘hatched on the spot’ list of everything going wrong in the quagmire of Iraq. The media has either maligned the troops or refused to report on the progress in Iraq; that is until the success of the Surge became too big to ignore.

Sadly, this Marine may have caught the coverage on that clearly insane Westboro Baptist church cult in midst of their reprehensible protest of a soldier’s funeral.  Then again he could have seen that despicable pack of hippies aging gracelessly – the code pinkos - picketing outside a Marine Corps recruiting station.  Of course, it could have been anything from the coarse line-up of banal programming on television that day.  Americans know more about the latest ego-centric, self-absorbed drama out of Hollywood than they do about the number of times per day a soldier’s life is in danger in Iraq or Afghanistan.

American citizens used to throw all of their support behind the soldiers in a time of war.  Thomas Paine donated the money earned from the worldwide success of his pamphlet, ‘Common Sense’ to buy uniforms for the soldiers of the Continental Army under the command of General George Washington.  Back in WWII Americans bought up war bonds in huge numbers.

A large percentage of us, primarily on the right side of the political aisle still donate, but there is no longer a nationwide embrace of this wartime tradition.  As a girl, I remember sitting on the porch in Chicago talking with my grandmother as she knitted bandages to be sent over to Vietnam.  The elitists and their mind-numbing drumbeat belittling patriotism have picked off the weakest among us, but they’ll never succeed in compromising the American character.

Residing in the state of California, I have been pushed to the point of frustration, disgust and fatigue and although nothing, absolutely nothing I have experienced in my life compares to the sacrifice of our brave soldiers; I too have arrived at the same conclusion – America is at the Mall.

In the time I’ve spent as a weekend volunteer registering voters, I’ve encountered the brainwashed, the clueless and the complacent American.  I’ve taken to referring to college students brain-washed with leftist propaganda who love to bleat their limited caché of talking points at me, as ‘the littlest commies’.  These kids would whine like the spoiled children that they are if tossed into a Soviet bread line.  Suddenly, they wouldn’t think Socialism was so cool, instead, you’d hear; “this sucks.”  It has always struck me as bizarre that college kids would be so taken with tyranny.  If they thought their parents were oppressive, try Communism for a spin.

Thanks to Leftists in the classroom, students have been robbed of the ability to think for themselves because freedom of speech is a direct threat to elitists and their power structure.  The last thing elitists want to hear is some patriot mouthing off about personal responsibility.  That’s the student who gets the ‘F’.  Drink the kool-aid or flunk the course.

The ugly thing about the hypocrisy of the Left is that while the elitist is feigning his concern for the poor, he’s also texting a friend with a private jet about a possible lift out to Napa Valley that weekend.  The policy of keeping the poor, poor is how elitists stay in power and at the top of the socialist heap.

The clueless American has absolutely no idea that their rights are being eroded.  They smile and say that they’re just not into politics.  Correction….they’re too self-absorbed to bother with what they refer to as politics.  People like this probably shouldn’t vote.  They take their freedom for granted.  They don’t think about the servicemen and women putting their lives on the line every day.  The clueless American is just too busy to put together a couple of items that might bring a tiny bit of comfort to a soldier 7000 miles away. 

They haven’t thought about the issues of the day because they couldn’t name a single one of them.  These Americans get their news from entertainment television.

The complacent Americans among us can rarely name a single patriot who charted our course to freedom.  These men put their lives and their treasure on the line for freedom.  Freedom! Yes, freedom.  This rag tag group of patriots dared to go up against the formidable English Army and they succeeded in running those redcoats out of town on a rail.  Our history, the un-revised, non-leftist version is nothing short of remarkable and our nation is most definitely divinely inspired. 

America, it’s time to assume your responsibility, become an informed citizen and engage in your community.  Make time to read up on the true nature of the candidates and the issues. Don’t take the glossy political postcard or union financed radio spot at face value.  Invest some time in a little research.  Go beyond the spin.  It is crucial for this nation to get it right.  Americans must refuse to hand over the reins of power to an elitist like Obama whose central goal is to tear down the American character while he destroys the free market and permits national security to crumble into dust.

America, get out of the mall and tend to your freedom and always remember those who protect you and your way of life.

Send a care package to a soldier:  http://www.ustroopcarepackage.com/

Visit the Author's Web-Site at:  http://www.desertrosebooks.com/

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